Apple Fitness Plus Review

If you're thinking about trying a new fitness program, you won't want to miss the well-rounded, multi-perspective review on episode 355 of Geekiest Show Ever! We discuss Elisa's Apple Fitness Plus experience. Listener Scott shares his thoughts, too. Melissa has a tip for redeeming Apple Gift Card codes. 

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Listener Feedback & Recommendations

Scott recommends a book called "Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution - 25th Anniversary Edition"

 

Apple Gift Cards

When you've been gifted an Apple Gift Card in a digital format like an email from a friend or from a third party like the one Apple uses for its Trade-In program, follow the instructions found on Apple's Help Topic page: Redeem your Apple Gift Card. In the case of Apple's current Trade-In processor, Phobio, they email you a "PIN" which a series of numbers containing spaces. Simply copy this "PIN" to a new note in your Notes app then delete the spaces between the numbers. Copy the modified "PIN" number into the text field where you're redeeming the code and the "Redeem" button text will now be accessible.

Home Smart Home

On episode 353 of Geekiest Show Ever, we discuss how we’ve been hacking our way through this pandemic. Elisa and I discuss the merits of using the word ‘hacker’ to describe someone who does something good with technology superpowers. Here is an article written by Chris Williams of The Register that examines the etymology in depth and where it might end up in our lexicons: “So it appears some of you really don't want us to use the word 'hacker' when we really mean 'criminal''
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Terrible UI Prize Goes to Vaccine Registration Sites

COVID-19 Vaccine appointment scheduling has been frustrating to say the least, but we are finally starting to feel like we’re making some progress. Elisa has flexed her online ticket-ordering muscles and now has appointments down and underway! I finally managed to get an appointment for one family member and now I must wait my turn.

Locked Down

Hacking and scamming incidents are on the rise. It’s a sad fact of pandemic life now, but on episode 351 of Geekiest Show Ever, we’re here to tell you that you can take back some control if you know what to look out for and how to implement best practices. We will give it to you straight because we believe that online security should be a regular part of our overall well-being. It’s why we so frequently discuss security issues and using password managers. Tune in to hear us share our field experience for ways to help your loved ones become safer in our digitally connected world.

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🗒 Complete show notes are here: https://www.geekiestshowever.com/gse351-locked-down/

Photo by Danielle MacInnes on Unsplash
⏯Audio file is here: http://www.mymac.com/podcast/GSE/GSE351.mp3 🎧

🦉Follow us for even more helpful information: 

 https://twitter.com/geekiestshow

This Means Something

Did you ever have one of those flashbacks where you think you remember something that happened, but then you're no longer sure if it really happened or not? I have this memory from Kindergarten and now I'm not sure if it actually happened or if it's just a dream I remember. Either way, it's a super cute story even if it's not true.

Mrs. Trowbridge's Kindergarten class, 1979

I was wearing one of my favorite shirts. My hair was in two long pigtail braids. My shirt had a print on it that resembled lined notebook paper. Printed on the shirt was a recipe for chocolate chip cookies. Mrs. Trowbridge asked me to volunteer in the front of the class and we proceeded to follow the instructions on my shirt, put the ingredients together, and then bake cookies for the whole class. I was a human recipe book. I remember feeling very special that day, like I was a big helper. I think it was a lesson about following instructions — something very important for kids to do.

I don't know if this happened or not, but I have been able to recall this story for some time. It's the kind of story I'll probably still know how to tell when I have dementia. So, to whoever my future handlers are, I'm sorry if I tell you this story over and over, but please have fun with it and bake some cookies for yourself!

Muddy Waters

I drove in the RAIN today! I can't remember the last time I did that. The reason for leaving the house was to see my neurologist today. I can't wait to get more answers soon.

When I got home, Keagan greeted me like a little gentleman and said, "Your umbrella awaits." Then he escorted me through the back gate. He was so sweet and I thanked him. As I looked down, I noticed he was barefoot and his feet were caked in mud. He cracks me up because he LOVES to play in the dirt! Not that he needed an excuse to get muddy, but this was certainly one of his more creative ways of doing so.

In other news, I received the exchange parts for my AirPods Pro. They're almost perfect and I'm glad I could get replacement parts so quickly during a pandemic.

Shortcuts with Scott

Have you ever wanted a quicker or more automated way to do something with your iPhone? That would be a job for shortcuts and we found just the right geek to tell us all about them! On episode 348 of Geekiest Show Ever, Scott Willsey educates us on iOS Shortcuts: what they are, how they work, and why you might like to learn how to use them to craft your own.

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Graphic by Melissa Davis

 

Follow us for additional tips and conversation on Twitter @GeekiestShow.

Apple's Shortcuts User Guide Data Jar is an app for storing shortcuts.

Here is a link to the Reminders Backup example shortcut Scott made for us to follow along: https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/158c4d1995ed4f9a9965853f8b9eb743

 

Use these settings to allow your device to work with shared shortcuts.

Learn more about Scott Willsey and check out where he podcasts over on BubbleSort Show.

Check the Apple Security Updates page to see if your Apple gear is up to date.

Uncomfortable, but Do-able is My New Mantra

Passwords for kids — this has been one area where I’ve had to compromise & it’s been uncomfortable, but do-able. It’s part of my job to teach cyber security to people, yet schools insist —and subsist— on using terrible passwords, but I get it. I don’t like it and I don’t agree with it, but I get it and I accept it even though I’ve worked very hard to teach my family the value of digital security and password hygiene.

When they have to use a site or platform that doesn’t allow for password changes, I remind them that it’s not how we do things, but for the type of educational service and limitations, we can compromise.

My kids have been using a password manager app since they were very little. But when it comes to using school laptops where personal apps can’t be installed, and for when they were too young to have their own smartphone to use as a look-up tool, we devised a plan. 

Normally, I advise against re-using passwords, but as in this case of compromise, I allow it to a degree. For each child, we come up with a password that is something unique, hard to guess, but easy for them to remember and develop muscle memory for typing. Once we’ve picked & practiced the base password, for each new site or platform they register, we use an abbreviation or short name for the service or product and tack it into the end.

Example:

MyGr8password becomes: MyGr8passwordGoog

MyGr8passwordScoolgy

MyGr8passwordIC

MyGr8passwordOffice

MyGr8passwordCanv

I still have them keep these logged into their password managers then, when necessary, we can print out a screenshot instead of hand-writing them each time to save on guessing whether someone wrote a 1, l, i, 0 or O. A spreadsheet or word processed document could work too, if that’s an accessible tool for parents. Be sure to choose a font that makes letters and numbers distinguishable from each other. Courier font is a good choice.

Here are some really terrific tips I love to share from Devorah Heitner, author of Screenwise. If you haven’t read her book already, I highly recommend it!

 

It's The Great Sale Sporting Event

I obsess when it comes to Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales because I save and research all year long for these days to come! My sister is the hard-core brick and mortar in-store shopper and I'm the caffeine dosing all-nighter online shopper. Both of us treat this time of year like it's a goddamn sporting event!

Well, I thought I'd share my findings here on my blog in hopes that some of you could benefit from it. Sharing is caring :)

It's iPad Stylus Comparison Time!
Did you get in on the Black Friday sale on a new iPad yet?

These newer iPads work with Apple Pencil, but those things are really, really pricey, so I set out to look at alternatives. 🤑

Lots of styluses are on sale now and choice paralysis is setting in. Maybe these considerations could help YOU decide so have a look:

✏️Compared to the Adonit Note, the Crayon can make thick and thin lines because it supports tilt, but I'm still not yet sure if that means you can make shading in sketches happen or not. None of the sub-$50 stylus models seem to support pressure sensitivity, so you'll need to pick and choose from their other features. Reviewers on Amazon for the Adonit Note report a better on/off/connection experience compared to the Adonit Crayon. Both have nibs that wear out over time and need to be replaced, but they are soft on the iPad's glass and don't scratch. I still think it sucks that they don't come with replacement nibs. You'll need to factor in the replacement pricing towards the total cost over ownership.

✏️Then there are the lesser-known (or not really known at all) brands like FoJoJo — which is just fun to say. Styli made by these makers all seem to be knock-offs of each other and it's difficult to tell from the reviews how well these models will hold up over time or if they'll be supported with new firmware down the road when needed. (Hello, FiftyThree Pencil, anyone? :(

✏️The thing that frustrates me about the "carbon fiber" nibs is that I can't seem to determine whether or not they can or will scratch the iPad's glass. The details are sketchy at best. (See what I did there?) In some of the product details they recommend that you put a screen protector on your iPad, but they don't want to admit it's because their nib could potentially scratch the glass like some buyers reported. It says on other product details that the nib is smooth and won't scratch, so which is it?! They all seem to provide replacement nibs, which is handy. but compared to the cost of having to get a screen protector, we're then back to factoring in yet another add-on to the total cost. There is a 5-minute auto-shut off feature which, at first I thought was cool, but then I thought about how frequently I get distracted by interruptions and then I imagined that it would feel like it was constantly losing the connection, so now I'm not so sure if that will be a good feature. One last thing to consider is power button placement. Some look like they would get pressed by accident while others are a tap on the top which might be better.

🛍Either way, these are all great alternatives to the pricier Apple Pencil if you don't need the additional bells and whistles. If you can keep your expectations reasonable for whether or not the money you save is worth the lack of longevity and future support, then one of these might get you creating more with your fancy new iPad!

Here are the three I've been comparing: (The Adonit went on sale again while I was writing this!)
✍️Logotech Crayon:


✍️Adonit Note:


✍️FoJoJo:


Go Clean Your...Mac!
You've heard me brag about how much space I save on my Mac by using Mac Cleaner X, right?
Wait...NO? Sheesh! You're worse than my kids!! Go check out this Sale on the MacPaw Store


(Thank you kindly if you've considered clicking my affiliate links in this post.) 🙏